


Food of Love

by Tarlan



Category: Big Eden (2000)
Genre: M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-24 04:57:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9703250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/pseuds/Tarlan
Summary: He was one so distracted by the dance with Dean that he had missed seeing the food offerings of love. Fortunately he fell back to Earth in time.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [track_04](https://archiveofourown.org/users/track_04/gifts).



> Such a lovely, sweet, romantic movie! I couldn't resist writing a small treat for track_04 :)

When Widow Thayer brought back that dish from Thanksgiving, Mary Margaret's insistence that the amazing tart was an offering of love came flooding back, and the veil lifted from Henry's eyes. Everything else fell into place; Pike's awkwardness around him, his upset at Thanksgiving, his absence from the funeral. All of it made sense as Henry recalled that one evening when he had persuaded Pike to join him for dinner, and how Pike had run off and returned from a few chores in his best shirt and with his hair so neatly brushed.

Unknown to Henry at the time, their first date.

He recalled Pike's story of the children who were too distracted by the dance that they forgot hunger, and everything and everyone else around them, dancing ever higher and more distant until they touched the ceiling of the world and became stars - the Pleiades. He saw a parallel of himself in that story, too besotted by Dean, lost in his own dance of unrequited love, and sublimating that unattainable desire by disappearing into his art and running away from Big Eden to lose himself in the bustle of New York.

In Pike's story, every once in a while a dancer would remember the ones left behind and feel the need to see those loved ones again, falling back to Earth. His grandfather's stroke had that effect on him, and yet once more he had danced around the desire for Dean, also newly returned to Big Eden. In his distraction he had not seen the offer of food as a cry for him to come back to Earth, to the one who loved him as deeply as Henry thought he loved Dean.

He was such a fool for believing it was the Widow's culinary skills producing such amazing, almost sublime meals when he had tasted her cooking from childhood and knew it was mediocre at best. Pike had learned to cook just for him, and now he was looking back at the previous six months with his eyes wide open Henry could see he was the only one in their small community other than Dean who hadn't recognized the love in each night's offering. Fortunately, once he did figure it out he found he had enough accomplices to help him break through Pike's quiet reserve.

Henry was sure it was the first time he'd ever seen Pike laugh.

Henry remembered Pike from school - the quiet boy who had sat at the back of the class and who spent most of his lunch breaks in a corner with his nose buried inside a book. If Henry closed his eyes who could still see the skinny boy with his dark hair forming a curtain to hide his face. It was humbling to realize Pike had loved him for as long as Henry had crushed on Dean, perhaps longer, and it was weird learning how Pike had used his books to hide how often he had simply gazed at Henry forlornly from afar.

He was doing the same now, glancing surreptitiously over the top of his book every once in a while as they sat together on the porch.

"The light's fading," Henry stated softly.

Pike stopped all pretense of reading, close up his book, and looked up at the sky. Twilight passed quickly once the sun set behind the mountains and as the night sky darkened the stars began to shine. Pike rose up gracefully and went back into the house, returning a few minutes later with hot coffee and freshly made cherry pie. It was delicious.

As they sat shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip on the porch swing, Henry teased, "You know I only married you for your cooking."

Pike laughed and pulled Henry in close, kissing him fiercely, because they both knew it was Henry's way of saying, 'I love you too'.

END  
 


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